The present invention relates to a device to prevent or reduce the effects of traffic collisions of various types.
In Sweden alone, 500 to 600 people are killed and about 4,000 injured in traffic accidents every year. Worldwide, the number of annual fatalities is almost one million. In no other activity does society tolerate such an enormous rate of death and injury. Compared with air travel, the risk of being injured in a road traffic accident is 500 times higher.
The total cost to the community of traffic accidents in Sweden alone exceeds SEK20 billion per year.
The desire and necessity of reducing the number of traffic accidents and their effects is particularly high all over the world. Road networks are being expanded and improved continuously to achieve this goal. Vehicles have also been improved in various ways, for example by the provision of seat belts, driver and passenger airbags, side airbags and seat belt pretensioners. The design of the front end of a vehicle is now such that a crumple (deformation) zone is provided to absorb the kinetic energy of the collision with an oncoming vehicle or other traffic obstacle, thereby lessening the stresses on the driver and passengers.
Patents for several types of extendable bumper designed to reduce retardation in a collision have been sought in recent years. However, none of these inventions has been adopted in practice, probably because they are complex, heavy and expensive, and because they rely on hydraulic operation, which does not provide the requisite speed of deployment.
The purposes of the present invention are, firstly, to provide a crumple zone which is sufficiently long to prevent or reduce vehicle damage and injury to the vehicle and its occupants in frontal collisions of various types and, secondly, to provide a deflecting action such that the vehicles are displaced laterally in a collision in which only a small part of the vehicle fronts collide, or in a collision with a tree, post or similar obstacle at the side of the road.
The invention is also designed to reduce the risk of injury and damage in lateral and rear-end collisions. The invention also has a beneficial effect in collisions with pedestrians, cyclists and wild animals.
The invention can also make the driver aware of a traffic obstacle in sufficient time to brake or take evasive action (cf. the collision warning indicator in an aircraft). It can also be used to operate the vehicle brakes if a collision is unavoidable (this feature should be used only on vehicles with anti-lock brakes), to warn the driver if his vehicle is too close to the vehicle in front and to deliver a warning if driving without seat belts above a certain speed.
The invention can be used on vehicles of all types, including trucks, buses, minibuses and cars. It can also be used in both left and right-hand drive traffic, although mirror-image versions must be made to suit each application. The collision protection can also be made convertible so that adjustment of the function from left to right-hand drive traffic, and vice versa, can be performed manually.
It is particularly important to equip heavy vehicles with this invention in view of the fact that a collision between a car and a heavy vehicle is almost invariably disastrous for the smaller vehicle. As a result, the collision protection should always designed for collision with a car. To ensure that the invention affords maximum protection, international agreement is needed to standardise the height of the bumper above the road on all types of vehicle.
Extension of the crumple zone is achieved by mounting one end of the bumper, which is designed for the purpose, in a pivoted manner on the left front end of the vehicle for right-hand traffic (or on the right front end for left-hand traffic) by means of a vertical pin, the other end of the bumper being secured by a disengagable latch. If a collision is imminent, the right-hand side of the bumper (or the left-hand side as appropriate) will be projected forward so that the bumper, together with a strut which locks it in the extended position, will assume the shape of a snow plough. The strut may take different forms.
Deployment is initiated by means of an instrument consisting of a sensor and a computing device mounted on the bumper or, alternatively, inside the vehicle windscreen to keep the sensor optics clean. The purpose of the sensor, which may be of the laser, radar or infrared (IR) type, is to detect and register obstacles in the direction of travel, and to record the vehicle""s speed relative to and distance from the obstacle. The sensor may be linked to the steering system so that it also follows the vehicle""s direction of travel when cornering.
When an obstacle appears at a distance approaching the vehicle""s stopping distance, the computing device shall provide the driver with a warning signal which may be either optical and/or acoustic. The optical signal can be projected onto the windscreen in the lower part of the driver""s field of vision, allowing him or her to brake the vehicle or take evasive action. The warning system is particularly valuable in darkness and fog, and is designed especially for drivers with impaired reactions, such as those affected by alcohol, drugs or medicines, drivers who have fallen asleep, and older drivers with impaired vision and hearing. Drivers who take excessive risks in traffic due to inattention or poor driving behaviour will also receive a warning from the system.
Integrating a signal from the seat belts in the warning system will provide a warning signal for that function also. The warning system may, in future, also be interlinked with speed information supplied to the driver. However, this assumes that speed limit signs will be equipped with electronic transmitters which send the information to the driver by wireless transmission.
If the driver neglects to reduce speed in spite of the warning signals, the system may take over the driver""s role and reduce the speed of the vehicle until the warning signal ceases.
The computing device receives a signal from the vehicle""s own speedometer to enable it to compute the stopping distance. Since the stopping distance is dependent, firstly, on the driver""s reaction time and, secondly, on the road surface conditions, provision should be made for entering different surface conditions manually. The driver""s reaction time may be a single, constant value or may be a separate value for each driver.
If the vehicle continues towards an unavoidable collision despite the warning system, the sensor will initiate deployment of the bumper. This will take place only a short distance before the collision actually occurs and when the speed of the vehicle relative to the obstacle exceeds a certain threshold value. As a result, deployment must take place within a very short time. This is achieved by means of a propellant charge, which is ignited by an electrical igniter connected to the sensor through the computing device. The charge, which may be of the same type as the seat ejector cartridge used in combat aircraft, or may consist of some type of combustible gas, propels the free end of the bumper forward with high force after the latch has been disengaged.
The bumper, and the strut which locks it in the deployed position, then form the desired crumple zone, while also acting as a deflector in a collision with an obstacle which impacts only a small section of the vehicle front.
In a total frontal collision at high speed, the bumper and strut will be deformed, absorbing the kinetic energy of the vehicles so that the retardation is limited to an acceptable value.
To improve protection for cyclists, pedestrians and wild animals, all or part of the vehicle front, particularly the radiator grille, may be mounted on the bumper and carried with it.
Protection for the aforementioned road user categories may be further improved by deploying a special type of air cushion along the entire length of the bumper. This is designed, when inflated, to form a curtain in the form of an air mattress in front of the bumper-mounted grille. In this case also, inflation is initiated by the computing device so that it takes place at an instant related to the collision speed.
On vehicles with anti-lock brakes, the signal from the computing device may also be used to apply the brakes immediately before the instant of impact. Since this eliminates the driver""s reaction time, the brakes are applied for longer and the collision speed is reduced.
A simpler variant of the collision protection may be used on trucks and buses. In this case, the protection may be deployed with the aid of a double-acting pneumatic cylinder instead of a propellant charge. The protection will remain deployed while the vehicle is travelling at a speed in excess of the preset threshold value. The device does not interfere with the handling of the vehicle.
The protection is retracted and no longer adds to the length of the vehicle when the speed falls below the threshold value.
A valve controlled by electrical signals from the vehicle""s speedometer is used to control the compressed air supply from the vehicle""s ordinary compressed air system, to ensure that the protection is deployed at the correct speed. Since the optronic sensor and propellant charge are not required, this version of the system is considerably simpler, cheaper and more reliable.